Launched in 2023, the Larder Cymru – Welsh Food for Schools project is a pioneering initiative led by Menter Môn to increase the use of Welsh food products in public sector school meals. With a focus on primary schools, the project aims to strengthen local supply chains, supporting and celebrating Welsh producers, thereby boosting the foundational economy while enhancing the nutritional and cultural value of school meals across Wales.
“The aim of Larder Cymru Welsh food for schools program initially was to essentially increase the procurement of Welsh products by the public sector in Wales.” – David Wylie, Menter Môn
Background and vision
The project was initially designed to support five local authorities: Cardiff, Caerphilly, Wrexham, Flintshire, Gwynedd, and Anglesey, to embed more Welsh produce into school menus. Over time, it expanded to include three more: Powys, Denbighshire, and Conwy. The vision was clear: to create a more resilient, sustainable, and locally rooted food system for schools.
Funded by the Welsh Government’s Backing Local Firms Fund, Larder Cymru exemplifies how systematic change in foundational sectors such as food helps to boost Wales’s Foundational Economy. Localising procurement practices promotes economic development for Welsh businesses, enhances environmental sustainability by minimising supply chain emissions, and incorporates cultural identity through the celebration of Welsh food.
“By creating that circular economy approach where you’re actually putting public money back into the Welsh economy, you’re helping scale up local food businesses, which in turn is creating good and fair jobs for people in the local community.” – David Wylie, Menter Môn
Growth and progress
The project’s approach was tailored and collaborative. Each local authority received bespoke support, including:
Reviews of procurement frameworks,
Menu analysis
Hosting supplier engagement
One of the standout strategies was the facilitation of procurement roundtables in North Wales, where local authorities explored joint purchasing opportunities to achieve economies of scale. This led to tangible outcomes, such as Wrexham transitioning from an English supplier to the Welsh-based Harlech for frozen goods.
Face-to-face engagement was a cornerstone of the project’s success. Larder Cymru highlighted the importance of connecting the entire supply chain through in-person meetings with procurement teams, chefs, and suppliers, building mutual understanding and trust.
Challenges and lessons learned
Despite its successes, the project faced several challenges. Time constraints and delays in local authority processes, such as survey rollouts and menu redesigns, often slowed progress. For example, a parent survey in Cardiff faced technical issues and was delayed by nearly a year, impacting the timing of final project reporting.
Another challenge was working with external stakeholders & suppliers, which hindered the ability to review menus in some cases. However, the team adapted by supporting schools through grants for cooking equipment and garden tools, demonstrating the project’s flexibility.
Impact and looking ahead
The project has had a significant impact on not only procurement practices and community engagement but also the amount of Welsh food being supplied. For instance, Caerphilly Council doubled its spending on Welsh produce after engaging with Larder Cymru to identify additional Welsh suppliers. Furthermore, a redesign of the primary school menu to highlight local suppliers and provide imagery has further increased pupil uptake and therefore spend with suppliers. This new primary school menu features Welsh dragon icons and professional food photography to showcase what the meals look like. This model inspired similar initiatives in Wrexham, where Welsh dragon symbols were added next to the food, and a supplier map was included on menus to clearly indicate the origin of the food.
The initiative also sparked broader interest with its work across multiple local authorities, with suppliers like Castle Howell and Harlech gaining visibility at national events such as LACA. The project’s influence extended beyond schools, with independent Welsh businesses reaching out to explore new procurement opportunities.
Looking ahead, the team plans to pilot innovative ideas such as salad bars inspired by Swedish schools and expand support for the fruit and vegetable supply chain. A new staff member with a marketing background will help bring menu development in-house, increasing efficiency and sustainability.
Conclusion
Larder Cymru has proven to be a transformative project, not only increasing the presence of Welsh produce in schools but also fostering collaboration, innovation, and community pride. Its adaptable model, rooted in local engagement and strategic partnerships, offers a blueprint for future food system initiatives in Wales and beyond.
With continued support and long-term funding, the project has the potential to scale further, embedding Welsh food culture into the daily lives of schoolchildren and strengthening the foundational economy across the nation.
Led by Carmarthenshire County Council, the Future Generations Menu project emerged from a desire to address the economic and environmental consequences of relying on imported food in Welsh Schools. With support from the Welsh Government’s Backing Local Firms Fund, the team set out to create a replicable, open-source menu framework that could be adopted by local authorities beyond Carmarthenshire, across Wales. This menu would be aligned with a sustainability framework developed by the team, incorporating Welsh seasonality and produce grown on their own farm.
“Our original aim was to reduce the economic impact of imported foods and to bring that value into the Welsh economy.” – Alex Cook, Food Systems Development Project Manager, Carmarthenshire County Council
The Approach
The project took a collaborative and multi-layered approach. To redesign the menu, Chefs were commissioned to work directly with schools, engaging parents, catering staff, and teachers in a co-design process. Using a sustainability framework, the menus were ensured to align with Welsh seasonality and local farm production. Waste monitoring systems were put in place with hardware to collect baseline data of what was being wasted, enabling future comparisons once the new menu was implemented. The farm itself was also adapted to align its crop plan with the school calendar, a novel approach that ensured produce availability matched educational needs. Communications played a key role, with digital and physical assets created to raise awareness and bring together stakeholders from across the food and farming sectors.
Early outcomes and impact
Although implementation was delayed, early analysis suggests the project will have a significant impact. The project is predicted to see an anticipated 80% reduction in the carbon footprint of school meals, largely due to replacing imported foods with locally sourced alternatives and reducing meat content by 30%. This shift is expected to redirect public spending directly to local Welsh producers.
Beyond the quantitative outcomes, catering teams have become more engaged with the principles of sustainable food and have begun to understand their role in delivering on strategic objectives such as the Well-being of Future Generations Act. This cultural shift has been one of the most encouraging signs of progress.
“The softer impact has been around engaging with catering teams… helping them understand the importance of sustainable food.” – Alex Cook, Food Systems Development Project Manager, Carmarthenshire County Council
Evaluation
The project is now entering its proof-of-concept phase, with the new menu set to launch in three schools from September 2025. Evaluation will focus on the carbon and economic impact, food waste reduction, and meal uptake, using data from systems like ParentPay. The team is also planning to publish the menu and crop plan to support knowledge exchange and inspire other local authorities to procure from their local growers. One of the most promising signs is that the catering teams are continuing with the project beyond the initial funding.
“One of the big impacts is that the catering team are running with it and carrying on with it post-funding,” – Alex Cook, Food Systems Development Project Manager, Carmarthenshire County Council
Challenges and learnings
One of the most significant challenges was the implementation gap between sustainability ideals and practical delivery. Catering teams and teachers often had conflicting perceptions of meal uptake and food waste, and there was a lack of reliable data to support either view. Communication between stakeholders was also a major hurdle, requiring outsourced support to improve engagement with parents and staff.
Operational issues, such as children selectively eating parts of their meals or choosing which days to participate, also impacted nutritional balance and waste. The team is now exploring new catering models, including consistent meal service and weekly sign-ups, to address these issues.
Impact on the Foundational Economy of Wales
The Future Gen Menu project directly supports the foundational economy by strengthening local supply chains, retaining jobs, and increasing the resilience of Welsh food systems. By aligning crop production with school needs and encouraging cooperative models among growers, the project is creating a more sustainable and locally rooted food infrastructure. The team is also working to re-establish an online food platform for local producers, aiming to create a cooperatively owned social enterprise that supports distribution and access.
Looking ahead
Building on all the knowledge gathered and data collected from the project, the next steps begin with the full roll-out for the Future Generations Menu from September 2025. The project then aims to continue with a gradual expansion to other primary schools over the course of three years. After which, the development of a secondary school menu and publication of the Future Gen Menu, alongside the crop plan, will be distributed for wider use. The aim is to share knowledge and tools widely across Wales to different local authorities to encourage continued collaboration between local authority procurement and local Welsh growers.
Conclusion
The Future Gen Menu project is a powerful example of how sustainability, education, and local economic development can be integrated into public sector food provision. With strong early outcomes and a clear roadmap for expansion, it offers a replicable model for other regions in Wales and beyond. The project’s success lies not only in its innovative approach but also in its ability to foster collaboration, shift cultural norms, and deliver tangible benefits to the foundational economy.
In partnership with Size of Wales, the initiative also tackles climate change by working with students to design deforestation-free, locally sourced menus for Monmouthshire schools. Through a combination of online and in-person lessons, the project is helping children develop lifelong skills around food, cooking, and sustainability.
Project goals
The Cookalong Clwb aims to:
Teach children essential cooking and budgeting skills.
Increase knowledge of healthy, locally sourced foods.
Empower children to make informed food choices and reduce food waste.
Raise awareness of climate change and the importance of sustainable sourcing.
“If children leave primary school knowing how to cook, budget, and make healthier food choices, they are set up for life. They’ll know how to feed their families, and they’ll have the confidence to make better decisions about food, whether it’s cooking or shopping.” – Angharad Underwood, the Cookalong Clwb
The project also works with disabled teams, teaching them how to shop and cook independently, promoting autonomy and self-reliance.
Impact and outcomes
The Cookalong Clwb has already made significant strides in fostering positive, long-lasting changes in children’s lives. Through both online and in-person sessions, the program has cultivated:
Kitchen Confidence: Children have learned to chop, cook, and manage the kitchen with sharp knives and hot pans, giving them practical skills that will last a lifetime.
Waste Reduction: Kids are now mindful of food waste, with tips like reviving lettuce stalks or broccoli stems by placing them in water for ten minutes.
Family Engagement: Children share their newfound skills with family members, subtly shifting family dynamics and sparking discussions about healthier cooking and reducing food waste.
Sustainability Advocacy: The collaboration with Size of Wales has inspired children to advocate for sustainable, deforestation-free school meals, with the Monmouthshire County Council committing to becoming the world’s first deforestation-free county.
Additionally, the project has inspired some children to pursue vocational qualifications, opening doors to careers they hadn’t previously considered.
Realisations and insights
While initially focused on food poverty, the project uncovered that socioeconomic status doesn’t necessarily correlate with cooking skills. As one participant reflects:
“The wealthier you are, the more likely you are to buy ready-made meals. The less wealthy, rely on food banks and ultra-processed foods. What we realised is that kids of all backgrounds are lacking kitchen skills.”– Angharad Underwood, the Cookalong Clwb
Another key realisation is the widespread fear around cooking and food preparation, often due to a lack of exposure or confidence. The project is working to break these barriers, especially when it comes to managing the kitchen environment and understanding food’s real value.
Challenges faced
The main challenge has been securing consistent funding to ensure long-term sustainability. Without reliable resources, expanding the project into more schools and reaching a larger audience remains a significant hurdle. As emphasised: “You can’t charge for this. Schools don’t have budgets, and we need the funding to continue delivering these lessons.”
Future plans and vision
Looking ahead, the project plans to:
Expand: Reach more schools across Monmouthshire and Wales, providing cooking lessons to a broader audience.
Teacher Training: Equip teachers with the tools and confidence to deliver cooking lessons within the curriculum.
Community Kitchens: Explore the creation of community kitchens where families can gather, cook together, and share meals.
Sustainability Focus: Continue advocating for deforestation-free, sustainable school menus and sourcing locally and ethically grown produce.
On April 28th, 2025, Cynnal Cymru hosted the Foundational Economy Celebration event in partnership with the Welsh Government’s Foundational Economy team. The event showcased over 15 projects that had been funded and supported by the Foundational Economy Welsh Government Grants, such as The Backing Local Firms fund. These projects all worked to connect Welsh Businesses to the public sector with the aim of delivering more products and services into the public sector and boosting local jobs.
The projects emphasise the importance of providing healthy, fresh, seasonal, local, and affordable meals. They also work to develop the Welsh supply chain to ensure the commercial viability of Welsh-grown vegetables and meat products, thereby supporting local farmers, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting sustainability. The promotion of local and seasonal foods plays a vital role in advancing sustainable practices across the sector.
This event also launched the Foundational Economy Mission statement, developed in association with Cynnal Cymru, which sets out the Welsh Governments strategic aims and objectives to building the Foundational Economy.
The Welsh Government is committed to supporting businesses in parts of our local, everyday economy, also known as the Foundational Economy. Its aims are to build a resilient society and improve goods and services, together with the economic and social relationships that underpin them, which are essential to living a good life.
Please join us at this event to celebrate the Foundational Economy and launch a new Foundational Economy Mission Statement.
We will be showcasing results from Welsh Government funded projects that have applied innovative approaches across a range of Foundational Economy sectors such as food, transport, housing and construction.
Foundational Economy projects showcased by organisations such as:
Castell Howell – Authentic Cuisine and Celtica Foods
Food Sense Wales – Welsh Veg in Schools
Development Trust Association Wales (DTA) – The Assured Growing Toolbox#
Menter Môn – Larder Cymru and Tech Tyfu
Social Farms and Gardens – Future Farms
Cookalong Clwb
Menter a Busnes
BIC Innovation – Increasing Welsh Food
Cardiff Council – Cardiff Food Hour
Carmarthenshire Council – Wellbeing of Future Generations menu development and School Meals Pilot
Monmouthshire Council – Meals on Wheels service
Can Cook – Well Fed Social Enterprise
Cardiff Met – Foundational Economy Innovation Network, CEIC Programme
PLANED
Simply Do – WISH project
Wood Knowledge Wales
Cyfle – Building Skills
NetRet Group
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy, and Planning will also attending to meet project leads and give a keynote speech, launching the new Foundational Economy Mission Statement.
There is no charge to attend this event, please note there will be video recording and photography on the day and lunch will be provided.
This event will be hosted by the Welsh Government in partnership with Cynnal Cymru.
Agenda to follow shortly.
Date: Monday 28th April 2025 Time: 10:30 am – 14:30 pm Location: Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Harbour Drive, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4PA.
Today is International School Meals Day, celebrated this year on the 13th March. This day emphasises the importance of ensuring that every child has access to healthy, sustainable, and delicious school meals. As a sustainability charity and the facilitator of the Foundational Economy Capabilities Network, funded by Welsh Government, we care deeply about access to sustainable and healthy food for everyone across Wales. Food and education are foundational sectors of our economy, and we work with many organisations working to improve the availability of sustainable, healthy and nutritious food in schools.
International School Meals Day promotes healthy eating habits, highlights the connection between nutrition and education, and encourages an understanding of the significance of providing quality, nutritious meals in schools.
Nutritious school meals are essential in promoting child health, wellbeing and learning. Healthy food nourishes students to support social and academic development and promote healthy eating habits. The link between healthy eating, education and better learning cannot be understated.
On International School Meals Day, schools, educators, parents, and policymakers come together to emphasise the importance of providing healthy and balanced meals for students. The focus is on sharing best practices in nutrition education and ensuring every child has access to nutritious meals that support their potential.
Take a look at some programmes in Wales supporting nutritious food in schools.
Universal Primary Free School Meal Programme
Over the past two years, Wales has been implementing the free primary school meals programme. In Wales, all primary school children can access the Universal Primary Free School Meal Programme, ensuring that no child goes hungry at school. This initiative tackles child poverty and promotes healthy eating within schools. It also increases the variety of food options available, improves social skills during mealtimes, and enhances both behaviour and academic achievement.
Evidence indicates that school meals have numerous benefits: children are more likely to attend and remain in school, learning outcomes improve, socioeconomic disparities diminish, food insecurity is reduced, and low-income families experience less financial pressure.
In Wales, leading projects such as Welsh Veg in Schools are aiming to get more organically produced Welsh veg into primary school meals across Wales. Coordinated by Food Sense Wales, the pilot project works with partners including Castell Howell and Farming Connect Horticulture to help get more locally produced organic vegetables into school lunches.
Can cook aims to eliminate Ultra Processed Foods, tackling child poverty and obesity rates. Their “Well Fed” programme includes initiatives like Cook-at-Home meal boxes, mobile shops, and Meals on Wheels. Check out our full story on Can Cook.
How do school meals relate to the wider world?
School meals in Wales and across the world are crucial interventions resulting in lasting positive impacts across multiple sectors the sustainable development goals. Read more on the School meals Coalition.
Our global food production and consumption systems are unsustainable and are currently the largest contributors to the climate crisis, the nature emergency, deforestation, the global water crisis, and biodiversity loss.
The broader benefits of school meal programmes have the potential to positively impact multiple sectors, including health, education, climate, and economic outcomes. These programs can serve as a catalyst for improving children’s health by engaging them in food systems and nutrition education. Additionally, school meal initiatives provide opportunities for UK-based industries to grow, invest, and develop more sustainable food systems.
Investing in school meals could align with the green growth agenda by emphasising the delivery of healthy and sustainable meals. This focus can inspire innovation and encourage investment by businesses throughout the entire value chain, from agriculture and food production to distribution. Such initiatives can create jobs and enhance productivity, leading to direct growth that is both inclusive and sustainable.
By prioritising sustainable suppliers along the whole value chain, there is opportunity for public procurement to make progress towards climate and environmental sustainability goals such as, eliminating plastic waste, reducing food waste and supporting sustainable land use practices. An extended school meal programme has the potential to improve health education, life outcomes and to catalyse innovation, and investment across multiple sectors, transforming food systems benefiting not only job growth but also aligning with our climate and biodiversity goals.
Cynnal Cymru facilitates the Foundational Economy Capabilities Network, funded by Welsh Government. The foundational economy covers the sectors that are crucial to our daily lives, including food and education. Read more about the foundational economy and the work of the capabilities network here.
Supporting the Foundational Economy: Connecting local suppliers to social housing providers
Challenge-led innovation has the potential to fundamentally transform social housing within Wales, not just for residents, but for local supply chains who will benefit from increased contracting. Combining this with the broader social impact created by better homes, and more ‘Made in Wales’ suppliers will also benefit the communities around us, creating a prosperous future for Wales
Lee Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, SimplyDo
A consistent challenge for the Foundational Economy in Wales has been a lack of connections between ‘anchor’ institutions and local suppliers.
A challenge-led partnership – funded by Welsh Government – between innovation management company SimplyDo and five social housing providers set out to change this. The goal was to increase access to Made in Wales supply chains, particularly from smaller and harder-to-reach organisations that could also contribute to sustainability objectives.
The Welsh Innovation in Social Housing (WISH) project led to the identification of over 700 local suppliers to meet specific needs in the social housing sector whilst also enabling the modernisation of processes and wider contributions to Net Zero goals.
Here’s how it was done.
Who are SimplyDo, and why are they working with Welsh Government?
SimplyDo’s mission is to bring innovative people together to solve transformational challenges. The Wales-based team offer a proven combination of a state-of-the-art digital product with people-powered innovation that streamlines services and business operations and, crucially, helps organisations solve complex challenges by connecting the right people with the right ideas. As a result, they enhance impact and efficiency.
The Welsh Government has recognised the value of both innovation and collaboration in its work to strengthen the Foundational Economy. This is the part of the economy that supports everyday life, such as housing, care, and food. Policy objectives include supporting more and better jobs with fair working practices, increasing living standards, and growing Wales-based businesses by supporting the public sector and other organisations to increase the use of ‘Made in Wales’ products.
Having run a successful pilot working with a housing association around the Optimised Retrofit Programme, SimplyDo received further Welsh Government support to scale up activity to support five social housing providers.
Project partners
Caredig Housing – Caredig Housing provides over 2,900 high-quality, affordable homes and provide a range of services to people and communities across Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Neath and Port Talbot, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.
Caerphilly County Borough Council – The council delivers a wide range of services to almost 180,000 people living in the Caerphilly County Borough including education, environmental services, highways, leisure facilities, planning and social services.
ClwydAlyn– ClwydAlyn was formed in 1978, and is a Registered Social Landlord managing over 6,200 homes in North and Mid-Wales.
Rhondda Housing Association (RHA)– RHA (Wales) is a Housing Association (now called Beacon Cymru) based in Rhondda Cynon Taff. It owns and manages more than 2,100 homes and properties and provide a range of services for over 3,000 people.
Trivallis– Trivallis provides homes to 25,000 people in Rhondda Cynon Taff and Cardiff Bay. Its primary role is delivering homes which are safe, secure and affordable to people who are in greatest need.
Getting started
The WISH programme started in 2023, working with five social housing providers to solve specific challenges linked with the Foundational Economy. Although these varied amongst the different partners, most related to difficulties in finding and vetting suitable local suppliers due to lack of data, particularly if there were extra characteristics needed, such as specific accreditations or being based in a specific locality. The problems were compounded by lack of time for horizon scanning and exploration of potential solutions.
This experience echoed one of the key findings of Cynnal Cymru’s Foundational Economy Community of Practice – that ‘anchor’ organisations in Wales, such as local authorities and housing associations, struggle to find local suppliers to carry out work for them, and local suppliers can find procurement processes inaccessible and complicated.
The WISH project’s approach to bridging this gap focused on removing barriers on both sides of the procurement relationship.
The first step was to use data analytics to complete a horizon scan for the social housing sector in Wales. This was to help generate both incremental and radical ideas to solve some of the issues appearing over the next 5, 10 and 20 years.
Five challenges were then identified with the project partners. Four of these were procurement-led, focusing on connecting better with existing suppliers and products:
Caredig Housing required a new automated invoice system to replace inefficient manual processes, but had limited time to horizon scan for a localised solution amongst a global marketplace.
Caerphilly County Borough Council required Welsh suppliers with capabilities in housing retrofit coordination, assessment, design, and evaluation, to support carbon reduction.
ClwydAlyn also required retrofit installers within Wales, especially when trying to find suppliers within north Wales.
RHA Wales required local suppliers and fitters of carpet and sheet vinyl flooring. This was both aimed at increasing their spend with local suppliers, and improving their purchasing impact through their ability to use recyclable and recycled materials.
The challenge from the fifth partner, Trivallis, had a different focus, requiring a supplier that could provide or help design a product to schedule, and prioritise the most critical, of the 56,000 tenant maintenance requests generated per year. Requirements included connecting and combining diverse data sets to identify trends and predictive cycles.
Once the challenges were identified, SimplyDo used their ‘Made in Wales’ AI-powered product to produce a long-list of potential suppliers, and in-house research to rate and shortlist these potential suppliers.
The results
The project had originally set a goal of engaging 400 suppliers across all the challenges with 5 being shortlisted per challenge.
The actual outcome went far beyond this, with 747 suppliers identified for the four procurement challenges:
Caredig’s challenge of a new automated invoice system to replace inefficient manual processes resulted in 264 potential businesses being identified, 99 rated as suitable, with 11 applications submitting applications and 5 ultimately shortlisted.
For Caerphilly County Borough Council’s project, a total of 156 organisations were found, with 66 of these being within specified postcodes. These suppliers are being invited to join Proactis in order to be part of future procurement activity.
ClwydAlyn’s challenge resulted in a total of 195 organisations being identified, with 64 of these based in north Wales, the area the association most wished to target. These suppliers have been invited to join a new hyper-local procurement micro-framework as part of work with the newly formed Onnen organisations.
RHA’s challenge resulted in a total of 132 organisations being found, with 88 within the CF/NP postcodes. These suppliers are being engaged in future procurement activity in line with the RHA’s maintenance strategy.
Trivallis’ challenge-led innovation resulted in the creation of a draft Expression of Interest form for SBRI Centre of Excellence funding.
Capturing the collaborative power of innovation across so many social housing providers was wonderful, and means that we were able to create the broadest possible impact and share learning across those organisations.
John Barker, Associate Director of Innovation, SimplyDo
Contribution to the Foundational Economy objectives
Through the WISH project, hundreds of local suppliers were identified to meet the needs of the housing associations, building relationships with local and hyper-local businesses that will contribute both towards the Welsh Government’s ambition to increase spend on ‘Made in Wales’ products and services and sustainability objectives,
As one WISH partner identified: “This has provided us with an enhanced pool of suppliers to engage in readiness for procurement activities.”
These local suppliers have now been linked with some of their key local anchor institutions – not just for the lifetime of this project, but as potential partners for longer-term procurements.
The suppliers were also sourced with specific attention to their ability to contribute to Net Zero aims. Two social housing providers were equipped to better deliver retro-fitting services whist RHA created an opportunity for suppliers to explore the greater use of recycled and recyclable materials.
The ClwydAlyn challenge also identified 26 Welsh organisations whose staff could be upskilled to acquire the PAS and MCS accreditations relating to renewable energy systems and installations, supporting a future-ready and highly skilled workforce in Wales.
The Welsh Government has Foundational Economy objectives of helping to achieve Net Zero, promoting environmentally friendly production and consumption, and increasing the use of ‘Made in Wales’ products to build a strong and productive supply chain. The WISH programme has clearly made outstanding contributions to these objectives.
Spreading and scaling
SimplyDo has identified potential areas to spread and scale the findings from this project.
The learning from this project has led SimplyDo to identify further potential uses of this proven process. This includes potentially focusing on Foundational Economy areas with similar supply chain opportunities. For example, decarbonisation innovation in areas such as public transport and healthcare.
From American suffragist Helen Todd’s original speech in 1911, labour movements worldwide have used the concept of bread and roses to fight for the circumstances where populations are not just surviving but thriving, too. In the Well-being of Future Generations Act, culture is explicitly written as one of the necessary elements of a thriving Wales. The Act intends for ‘A Wales of Vibrant Culture and Thriving Welsh Language. A society that promotes and protects culture, heritage and the Welsh language, and which encourages people to participate in the arts, and sports and recreation.”
The ongoing pressure on the cost of living, the health service and heritage and arts organisations in Wales illustrates the everyday challenges decision makers are having to make on budgets and priorities. When austerity hits, one of the first things to be cut is cultural services, and we’re seeing that now across Wales and the UK. The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act challenges us all to not neglect our cultural responsibilities and connections in favour of other priorities.
While we’re not a cultural institution at Cynnal Cymru, we care deeply about wellbeing in all its manifestations. Our Fair Economy team accredit the Living Wage and Living Hours Wales, helping organisations to create working conditions that don’t just meet the bare minimum requirements for living, but help their staff to thrive too. We’ve seen huge transformations where individuals no longer have to work multiple jobs and can spend more time with their families, get enough rest, and engage with the culture and community around them.
Culture plays a key part in unlocking sustainability action and is often forgotten in technical debates around carbon reduction. As Gus Speth, US climate scientist put it:
“I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.”
How are our team thriving while surviving?
Sometimes we think about culture as something serious, expensive, and reserved for a few kinds of activities. But just like sustainability is made up of the little changes that add up in all our work, cultural well-being can come from small moments in our everyday lives. Outside of their work at Cynnal Cymru, our staff have rich lives engaging with cultural moments both big and small.
Abi, our Membership Officer, spends one day a week as an apprentice at an antique jeweller, learning how to make and repair fine jewellery. Recently she’s been challenged by learning how to use CAD design as a tool to design and model jewellery, exploring a whole new creative community. Our Head of Business Development, Clare, recently joined a group at the NoFitState circus building to watch part of the Festival Mondial de Cirque de Demain, livestreamed from Paris. When we can take the time for them, these moments of intercultural engagement can inspire us to think outside our daily spheres and even try new things.
Fiona, our Finance Officer, stops crunching numbers to write fiction when she’s not at work. She’s currently working on two novels, one that’s nearly finished and one that’s a fresh project – an old school, tongue-in-cheek heist set in the modern day. Our Marketing and Communications Officer, Beli, also writes fiction, having recently written a short story for the Beyond/Tu Hwnt bilingual anthology of Welsh deaf and disabled writers.
As a crafty team, our staff are often sharing ideas and tools. Recently, our Living Wage Programme Lead, Grace, gave Fiona some embroidery frames and she’s started a new project from them, planning to make two pieces of iridescent insects. There are so many ways we can appreciate and explore ecology and sustainability in ways that are creative, whether that’s researching beetles for a creative project or photographing the beautiful view on one of our coastal walks in Wales, like our Living Wage and Human Resources Support Officer, Alys, who recently walked some the Pembrokeshire Coast.
Blue Lagoon Quarry photographed by Alys Reid Bacon
Integrating cultural and sustainability work
Too often, we can become siloed in our approach to sustainability. The Well-being for Future Generations Goals challenges us to think about everything that a society needs to thrive. No single person or organisation can do it all, but when we work together, we can make lasting and impactful changes. As a membership organisation, we are inspired by the organisations from outside the sustainability sector who are committing themselves to sustainability work, such as our members Arts Council Wales, Ffilm Cymru, and Media Cymru from the arts sector. We’re all aware of the need to change our behaviour to look after our climate and natural environment, and at Cynnal Cymru we’re committed to empowering organisations from every sector to turn that knowledge into actionable steps.
So how can culture help sustainability?
At the recent South East Wales Climate Coalition event, our former Board member Andy Middleton reminded the audience that “change happens by those who hold the best parties.” Joy, creativity, and culture must necessarily go hand in hand with our passion for a better society.
One of our members Coleg y Cymoedd have embraced an Every Day Every Decision approach to sustainability to encourage their staff and students to drive the culture of change based on what is important for them. The technical aspects are still happening, but just backstage. These kinds of innovations that think about what drives behaviour change are so important and integral to our ways of working at Cynnal Cymru.
Another change in culture is moving towards long-term thinking. This is one of the ways of working encouraged by the Future Generations Commissioner. We have benefited from attending the Futures Hub training as they begin to build a community of practice around the change of culture.
To quote educator and author Peter Drucker: ‘The best way to predict the future is to create it.’
If we’re too busy looking at the numbers, the facts, the long reports of data, we can neglect to imagine a future that is full of joy, passion, and creativity. Wales is a land of song, literature and culture, and we must savour and treasure these things in little and large ways to create a sustainable future that is authentically Welsh, authentically ours.
Every month in Cynnal Cymru’s excellent newsletter (subscribe here), we explore a different question or topic through the lens of our core organisational aims of a fair and just society, an inclusive low-carbon economy, and healthy, restored ecosystems.
Last month, we thought about how to handle complexity within times of change in our job roles or the wider sustainability conversation. This month, we’re thinking about what it means to craft and build a new future together. We’re a few weeks out from an election that saw the Conservatives leave office for the first time in 14 years, with Labour winning a majority of 172 seats. Labour’s campaign slogan was simple: Change.
The public policy landscape has started to shift already, with 40 pieces of legislation introduced by the new government (and an additional two carried over from the previous parliamentary session).
Unsurprisingly for an organisation called Cynnal Cymru – Sustain Wales, we have a core focus on sustainability. We also want to ensure that action on climate change leads to a better society, and doesn’t leave workers behind – that’s where our Fair Economy team comes in. For an organisation that has this focus on sustainability and a fair economy (such as fair working practices), there is plenty for us to sink our teeth into.
Sustainability
One of the new government’s flagship policies has been the creation of a new organisation called GB Energy – a new, publicly-owned green power company. The UK Government intends to invest over £8bn in this organisation over the next five years – a major spending commitment.
It’s still early days for GB Energy, and there’s more to learn about how it will operate as it comes into life. However, it seems that a core remit will be co-investing in emerging renewable energy technology and scaling up investment in more established technologies. Essentially, it will aim to unlock private sector investment in renewables by de-risking and clearing the way for this investment.
Chris Stark – former Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee – has also been appointed to lead a new ‘Mission Control’ that will aim to break down barriers and accelerate progress on clean energy projects.
UK Labour appears to lean on some of the work of economist Professor Mariana Mazzucato. Labour’s ‘five missions to rebuild Britain’, chime with Mazzucato’s 2021 book ‘Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism’. This book was inspired by the space race, which, in the US, took a ‘missions-based’ systems-engineering approach to coordination of the public and private sectors to put human beings on the moon.
Sound familiar? This appears to very much be the approach of the new UK Labour government with regards to its ‘National Missions’, ‘Mission Control’, and the public-private approach of GB Energy.
This plan is not without controversy. Many will question the need for private sector involvement, with the inevitable siphoning off of proceeds into private profit, particularly where the public purse is de-risking projects – although the government would counter that private expertise and buy-in is necessary.
There is a particular sensitivity in Wales, too. GB Energy has already announced a partnership with the Crown Estate in England and Wales. The Crown Estate owns a substantial amount of Britain’s land, including the majority of the seabed, and public money will be used to lease this land to develop windfarms.
There have been calls for the Crown Estate to be devolved to Wales, a position long supported by the Welsh Government. However, the UK Government does not have this as a proposal in its legislative agenda.
Fair Work: Policy Highlight
There is news on the fair work front, too. The King’s Speech included a new Employment Rights Bill. The UK Government has said this Bill will enhance a long list of working rights:
Banning ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts
Ending ‘Fire and Rehire’ and ‘Fire and Replace’
Making parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal available from the first day of employment (whilst retaining the option of probationary periods)
Removing the lower earnings limit for Statutory Sick Pay
Flexible working the default from day-one for all workers
Making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work (except in specific circumstances)
A new Fair Work Agency to strengthen enforcement of workplace rights
A new Fair Pay Agreement in the adult social care sector, with potential expansion to other sectors
Removal of some restrictions on trade union activity
Simplifying the process of statutory recognition for trade unions
Introducing a regulated route to ensure workers and union members have a reasonable right to access a union within workplaces
This appears to be a strong set of proposals to strengthen workers’ rights in the UK. However, the detail will be crucial – for example, the ‘teeth’ that the new Fair Work Agency is given, the exemptions for employers around new rights such as protecting new mothers, and how broad the definition of ‘exploitative’ zero hours contracts is.
The Fair Pay Agreement in the adult social care sector will be particularly interesting, and is under-remarked on. ‘Fair Pay Agreements’ are essentially an industry-wide employment agreement, where government brings together trade unions and employers to agree minimum pay rates and conditions across the sector.
The UK model of collective bargaining currently focuses largely on the firm level. Research has found that this model poses a significant challenge to trade unions, which have to secure agreements workplace-by-workplace. It also found that no country which operates on this model has collective bargaining coverage of over 35%, with collective bargaining coverage only remaining high and stable in countries where multi-employer or sectoral agreements – such as these Fair Pay Agreements – are negotiated.
That the UK Government is now proposing to bring sectoral agreements into the social care sector, potentially as a ‘proof of concept’ for other low-paid sectors, is significant. If rolled out successfully and more extensively, this could be the start of a quiet revolution in the UK’s industrial relations settlement.
Given Cynnal Cymru’s longstanding work on the real Living Wage (we’re the Living Wage Foundation’s Accreditation Partner for Wales and host Living Wage Wales in-house), there’s a particularly interesting commitment to deliver a ‘genuine living wage’. The Low Pay Commission, which suggests the minimum wage rate (or National Living Wage as it’s now called) will now have to consider the cost of living when making its recommendation.
For our part, the real Living Wage is set directly according to the cost of living, based on a basket of household goods and services. That’s a different remit to the one of the new Low Pay Commission, so we’ll be keeping an eye on any differences in the two rates.
What does this mean for our future?
There is so much we could say around policy that relates to fair work and sustainability, and the impacts these changes could mean for our foundational economy too.
There is clearly a huge amount of change being undertaken that speaks to the things we care about at Cynnal Cymru, encompassed by our vision of a fair and just society, an inclusive low-carbon economy, and healthy, restored ecosystems. .
We know that legislation can’t deliver everything and it doesn’t work on its own. We also believe in the power of partners, citizens and action-focused advocacy to bring about the transformative change that we need.
Harry Thompson is Senior Programme and Policy Lead: Fair Work and Economy and manages the Fair Work and Living Wage team, which work towards Cynnal Cymru’s strategic goal of a fair and just society.
Living daily on this planet, particularly in Western countries, we are all faced with the reality of our disproportionate contribution to the climate crisis. We know that we have a responsibility to do something – but what? With so many conflicting and changing sustainability narratives, it can be difficult to know the right thing to do when faced with complex and complicated advice. How can you know that the information you’re receiving is accurate, timely, and the best option for you and the wider world around us?
We are in a time of climate anxiety, with so many apparent ‘quick fixes’ that make us feel good but turn out to do more harm than good. The fear of accidentally causing more harm can lead us to become frozen by indecision, stuck with old sustainability policies and practices and no real shift in our mindsets. It’s scary to look carefully at our climate impact, particularly when we know that everything we do necessarily impacts our environment and other people. Will we be judged by others for not knowing the newest advice? What if we can’t make the changes suggested to us because of issues like finances, staffing shortages, or accessibility?
As an organisation working to help people change their behaviours around climate and nature, we’ve thought carefully about the nuance and complexity of sustainability conversations. We know that shame is not a good motivator and that the weight of eco-anxiety can take a heavy toll. In order to make collective change, we must be each other’s allies and cheerleaders. Our model of training, membership, and advice services all seek to meet every organisation where they’re at, without judgement, and work together to get you to the next step of your journey. We also don’t shy away from recognising the emotional impact that dealing with these issues can bring. We aim to create space for understanding and managing that emotional impact.
Our staff have reflected on how they manage the complexity of sustainability conversations, as experts who have spent years working to help change mindsets and behaviours across small and large organisations. If we can carry the complexity of knowing our lives necessarily contribute to climate change, while still reducing our impact and protecting our land, we can find the hope that leads to action.
Making Climate Science Accessible
Our climate is one of the few things that impacts all of us all of the time. Yet climate science is often siloed and separated from the general public, who receive advice and instructions without always knowing why and the costs and benefits of both action and inaction. As sustainability experts, we must be open to these questions and concerns from the general public and translate what we know into language that resonates with them.
Phoebe Nicklin, our Policy and Engagement Officer, uses her background in community engagement to connect dense policy research with the people whose lives will be affected by it.
“It always comes back to the people for me. Who am I trying to make the world a better place for? I think about the people in my community, my friends and family, and future generations, and I’d like to make the world a better place for them. For me, when I get bogged down in details or disheartened at things not moving fast enough, I bring things back to that personal level. We like to say that by grounding it in the earth and bringing things back to basics the complexities become less scary.”
Connecting to people and their stories is crucial to maintaining hope for our future, and remembering that sustainability is interconnected with all our other social concerns. We believe that most people and organisations want to care about sustainability and the world around us. We are all living in the world, so why wouldn’t we? It is unfair to suggest that people don’t care about sustainability issues, when maybe they just don’t yet understand them. We’ve all experienced that feeling of embarrassment when we don’t know something we think we should. We aim to not make anyone feel that way, and we do that by creating ways for groups to engage in and understand climate science in the format that suits them.
“Most people don’t know the language of sustainability, and I don’t blame them – it’s really jargony. I want instead to connect them to the day-to-day of what does this look like in practice, making it more tangible so it isn’t this theoretically abstract thing. Our Wales in 2051 stories were an example of connecting people to those tangible things, bringing in practices towards a better quality of life with more inclusion, more collaboration, and seeing how that can look in real life.”
When we envision a better future for our communities, we may imagine access to nutritious food, great healthcare, and a thriving natural world. How do we get there from where we are now? The practical work to get us there can take different forms, and we must think about the ways people in all positions of society can come together to create change. If we think of sustainability as simply farming or cleaning rivers (although these are certainly crucial parts!), we neglect many of the human elements of this work that are blocking us from making progress.
What is blocking us from making change?
In a country suffering a cost-of-living crisis and still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not surprising that people are still focused on rebuilding and trying to regain lost ground, with less time to focus on sustainability. If people are struggling to meet their basic needs, how can they find the time and energy to take care of our world? In our roles as agents of change towards a better climate, we must recognise those who have been excluded from and forgotten in climate conversations. How can we claim to be looking after our planet without looking after those who are most marginalised within it?
“I’ve always been someone who wants to do a job that helps people. When an organisation becomes Living Wage accredited, they obviously have to pay the real Living Wage as a minimum. So in order to accredit, lots of organisations will give their staff a pay rise to meet that minimum. I think that’s the biggest part where I see that we’re making an impact, changing people’s lives for the better.”
Have you ever rushed into sustainability action, only to find that people don’t seem to want to engage with it? Especially within organisations, leaders can sometimes be out of touch with their staff, not knowing how to engage them with new sustainability practices. Instead of simply introducing new mandatory policies, we can dig a little deeper into understanding what our staff need. When our staff are paid well, feel respected, and trust us to support and nurture them, they are more likely to engage with new policies and practices.
How do we effectively change hearts, minds, and actions?
While most of us are aware of the climate crisis, we are all on different steps on our journey to understanding our sustainability responsibilities. Every individual and organisation has a different idea of the best steps for them. With different values, priorities and concerns, one path of action may be perfect for one organisation and impossible for another.
If we meet these conversations with rigidity, assuming that we know what is best for an organisation or individual, we are bound to experience resistance and may even end up pushing them further away.
Our new Sustainability Trainer, Chris Woodfield, is used to encouraging conversations with people on all steps of their journey, having started his career working within community activism.
“For me, it’s about framing what we’re doing. One tool I often use is called The Business Transformation Compass from Forum for the Future. It looks at what mindset we’re coming from, and looking to shift our thinking from a risk mitigation and zero harm mindset towards a do good and just and regenerative mindset focused on building capacity for justice and regeneration. This helps us look at the system as a whole to move beyond sustaining and maintaining to enabling life to flourish and thrive.”
Conversations around changing attitudes and habits can be tricky and need to be handled with care. If we want to turn sustainability aims into actions, we need to recognise that a sense of control and agency to act for the things that we care about are far more powerful motivators than fear or shame.
In our sustainability advice services and training courses, we think about the values and needs of each organisation and develop sustainability goals to match them. That’s where our membership programme becomes so useful. Learning from similar organisations across different sectors has helped our members discover appropriate sustainability goals for them, feel less alone on their sustainability journey, and practice peer accountability.
Can the sustainability journey be made easier?
In the past few years, our lives have all changed hugely, meaning our habits have changed, too. It can be difficult to focus our attention in a specific direction, which can result in our sustainability aims getting left behind. Even with the pressure on organisations to meet sustainability goals and a widespread awareness of climate issues, time-poor organisations may struggle to find the time to dedicate to meaningful sustainability work.
Noticing this, we’ve adapted things like our membership offer to fit with the needs of our members, particularly when it comes to their time. Our large quarterly member events always bring in a great crowd, alongside our digital events that are held each month, but developing this programme has required a lot of listening and adaptation from our Membership Officer, Abi Hoare:
“Members ask us for networking opportunities, and they are always so engaged at our in-person events. But there are always practical issues, from people’s availability to wider issues of transport infrastructure and budgets. With the shift to remote working, people are more spread out and structuring their lives around being online, so in-person events can be tricky. We balance our in-person sessions with online sessions, having taken accessibility concerns into consideration, but we’re always listening to ways we can expand and evolve our programme.”
If your events are under-attended, it’s worth thinking beyond the idea that people don’t ‘want’ to engage, and questioning how these events might be inaccessible. This could be down to practical issues, such as the space used and the time chosen, as well as interconnected issues such as clear event marketing, pricing, and the return on investment for your attendees.
Many organisations are struggling financially, particularly in the third sector. One question that comes up sometimes is why should we budget for sustainability? When budgets must be cut, it makes sense to ensure that this sustainability work is, in itself, sustainable for us. This is why we think carefully about our pricing structure, offering different tiers and kinds of support to meet each organisation’s needs and budget.
Fiona Humphreys, our Finance Officer, has seen the organisation grow and evolve over three years. She has reflected a lot on the value sustainability training provides.
“As climate science changes so rapidly, we need to ensure that we continue to develop alongside it. The paid services we offer factor in our team’s research into evolving climate science, and purchasing our training helps an organisation to remember the value and importance of climate consciousness. We put a value on our work because we believe it has worth – and doing so allows us to offer pro bono work where it’s most needed, while also ensuring that we can continue to provide a service that is both up to date and effective in helping our clients become more sustainable.”
When we have conversations around the need for sustainability action, it’s important to remember the nuanced factors that affect people’s behaviour. Through our training, advice, fair work, and membership services, we work with organisations of all sizes to take the next step towards more sustainable ways of working. When we’re honest with ourselves about our progress and our pitfalls, we can begin the journey of deepening our positive impact on the planet. Even as experts, we all have a way to go, and we hope you’ll join us in navigating this complex journey.
Ready to start your sustainability journey?Get in touch to hear about our membership, training programmes, and sustainability advice.
